By MH Staff - Posted on 23rd June 2014

When the going gets tough, the tough give back.

A University at Buffalo study found that volunteering may help you live longer. People who reported a major stressor (like a job loss) in the last year were 30% more likely to die within a five-year follow-up than those who hadn’t had a crisis. The exception: people who did volunteer work had no increased risk of dying. Selfless acts may release the bonding hormone oxytocin, which blunts stress, says researcher Dr Michael Poulin. That’s key – stress can trigger heart attacks.

Log 20 to 39 hours a year, the average range of time people in the study volunteered.